


espresso your love (for me)

by MajorinMonster



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, but only for like literally a tiny period of time, cute crushes - Freeform, eliott is a barista, lucas is already out, too many frappacinos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 17:17:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18526042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajorinMonster/pseuds/MajorinMonster
Summary: The first five times that Lucas shows up at school with a cardboard coffee cup from a cafe that Lucas has, on numerous occasions, claimed to be too hipster for its own good, Yann doesn't ask. As tempting as it is, Yann has only been awake for a very, very short period of time. His mind is on other things, such as how to draw believable eyeballs on his eyelids to make it look like he's still awake in class.The sixth time, however, Lucas is also sporting a blush so bright that Yann had seen it half a street away, when Lucas had been walking towards him, and so Yann can't resist needling him about it.





	espresso your love (for me)

The first five times that Lucas shows up at school with a cardboard cup from a cafe that Lucas has, on numerous occasions, claimed to be too hipster for its own good, Yann doesn't ask. As tempting as it is, Yann has only been awake for a very, very short period of time. His mind is on other things, such as how to draw believable eyeballs on to his eyelids to make it look like he's still awake in class.

The sixth time, however, Lucas is also sporting a blush so bright that Yann had seen it half a street away, when Lucas had been walking towards him, and so Yann can't resist needling him about it. It is his god given right as the best friend, and Yann intends to fulfil his duty no matter how sleep deprived he is.

“They do good coffee.” Lucas gives a casual shrug in reply, and to someone who doesn't know him as well as Yann does, that might be the end of it. Unfortunately for Lucas, Yann has had his undergraduate degree in Lucasology, with a minor in facial expressions, for a long time now. He graduated first in his class; it's quite possible that he can read Lucas better than Lucas can read himself. Also unfortunately for Lucas, Yann is a curious bastard who gets especially curious when his best friend is so obviously lying to him about something as mundane as coffee, hipster though it may be.

“Uh huh,” Yann narrows his eyes. He raises a single eyebrow and fixes Lucas with a look that, in the past, has worked a treat in getting Lucas to spill the beans. Somewhere down the line however, Lucas seems to have become slightly more immune. Lucas isn't making a sound but everything about him screams ‘innocent whistling.’ He averts his gaze, focuses on a crack in the pavement like it holds the secret of life, and fiddles with the lid of the take out cup in his hand.

He clearly hasn't thought this through, however, because it brings Yann’s attention down to the cup itself, and to the black scribbles he can see underneath Lucas’ grip. He has enough time to catch what looks to be a raccoon wearing an apron with the logo of the coffee house on it, before Lucas notices what he’s looking at and adjusts his hand so that the little animal disappears beneath his fingers. “I'm pretty sure it was you, who, just last month, begrudgingly took a sip from my drink and then called their coffee a travesty against all coffee kind. You said it tasted like _mud_.”

“Must have been something wrong with your cup.” Lucas blinks at him, wide-eyed and smiling a smile that screams ‘please believe me!’ so loud that Yann can almost hear it. He forces his eyebrow up even higher, ignoring that this kind of hurts his face. He needs to rock the disbelieving aesthetic to such an extent that Lucas decides it's a good idea to spill all his secrets. “Because this coffee is fine. _Great_ , even. Also, you drink it too sweet. No one needs that much vanilla syrup in a weeks worth of coffee, nevermind a day's worth.”

Yann ignores the crack about his coffee habits. He has more important fish to fry-- or beans to grind, if you will-- and Lucas is just trying to distract him. “Lucas. It took me half an hour just to convince you to go in there. You spent the entire walk from my house whining. And even when we got there, we literally spent five minutes outside of the entrance while you listed excuses as to why we should go twenty _more_ minutes out of our way and find one of the handful of other cafes in the area. I was half expecting you to pull out a PowerPoint presentation, you were that passionate about it.” And when Yann had practically manhandled Lucas into the cafe anyway, Lucas had refused to buy anything on principle alone, only stealing a sip of Yann’s drink because he’d been so thirsty.

“I like the lighting?”

“You can’t have been in there for more than five minutes, why would the lighting matter? And you didn't say anything about the lighting last time.”

“Did I say lighting? I meant the atmosphere.”

“Again…  you were only in there to get a to-go cup of coffee, so why would the atmosphere matter?” Lucas has never been able to tell a genuinely well put together, well thought out lie to Yann’s face, but this is just ridiculous. He's embarrassed on his best friend’s behalf.

Lucas is silent, considering, and ultimately beaten, because Yann is not an idiot and if it isn't the coffee, or the lighting, or the atmosphere, there is only one option left...

“You fancy the barista, don't you.”

Lucas groans, burying his face in his hands. Yann can see the exact moment he gives in written in the set of his shoulders.

“ _So much._ ”

 

There's a reason why Lucas hadn't wanted to clue Yann in to his little crush, and it isn't that he's embarrassed, or the fact that his crush, the barista, is a boy. Nope. He came out to Yann months ago,  and Yann had been great about it, so it's definitely not that. It's simply that Yann is like a dog with a bone when it comes to these things; he’ll never let it go if there's still meat left to chew on. And true to form, now that Yann knows that Lucas has his eyes on someone it’s all he’ll talk about. The walk from the front of the school to their class feels like it takes a lifetime, when in reality it's about five minutes, and Lucas spends every step fending off questions and curious little jabs to his side courtesy of Yann’s elbow.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Is he into you?”

“What's his name?”

“Does he go to our school?”

“Oh, so he's two years _older,_ get it, Lucas!”

Lucas loves his best friend, he does, he _really_ does, but sometimes, like for example, _right now_ , Lucas wishes he would shut up. Yann is way too excited about a potential love interest for Lucas, and they're getting some odd stares from their classmates as they trudge through the corridors.

There is a part of him that wants to talk about Eliott. And it isn't what you would call small either. A _big_ part of him that wants to tell his best friend that he thinks he's met the love of his life, as dramatic as that is and as young as they are. But there is also a part of him that wants to keep Eliott close for just a little while longer. He doesn't even know if Eliott likes him back, for fucks sake. The last thing he needs is Yann accompanying him on his coffee shop crusades with his elbow nudging and wink winking and hint hinting. Lucas blushes enough whenever he sees Eliott; he really doesn't need the help.

Alas, the proverbial coffee beans have been spilled, and Lucas inevitably caves.

“Do you remember that test we had about two weeks ago? The one I forgot about? The one I was almost late to? I was near the cafe when you messaged me, and I needed the caffeine way too much to complain about the quality at the time. When I got to the front of the queue the barista noticed I was a little bit panicked and while he was making the coffee he asked if I was okay. In any other situation I’d have just said yes, I don't make a habit of getting into personal conversations with strangers, but he actually looked like he cared about my answer. And, I don't know, I guess I thought that if he knew I was in a rush the coffee would get done faster? It didn't by the way-- as Eliott says you can't rush perfection, but then that's a load of crap because the coffee really is _shit--_  anyway as soon as it was done he handed it to me and told me it was free of charge, on the house. And then he said good luck.”

It had also helped that this barista had the height of a model, the smile of an angel, eyes that embodied the sun and hair that would make Edward Cullen jealous--  not that Lucas would ever admit to understanding that reference, or watching that film. Really. He just has a thing for Robert Pattinson, that’s all.

“Dude, are you _sure_ he said ‘good luck,’ because from that smile on your face it kinda looks like he said ‘wanna fuck?’”

“Yann!” Lucas punches him in the arm, not hard enough to leave a bruise but hard enough that the entire patch of skin tingles for a moment. Yann shoves at him, snickering like the school boy he is.

“So his name is Eliott? Eliott and Lucas. Lucas and Eliott.” Yann purses his lips and looks up at the ceiling, contemplative. Lucas eyes him suspiciously. He recognises that look on Yann’s face, and more than anything it makes him nervous. They've come to a halt now outside of the classroom, and every second that Yann spends studying the ceiling is a second that Lucas considers making a break for it. “I think we should go there after school. Now that I think about it I've been really craving their coffee all week…”

“Bullshit!” Lucas protests, wishing he’d taken his chance to escape when Yann had been distracted. “There is no way in hell that we're going to that cafe.” No way. In _hell_.

 

So of course they end up going to the cafe.

The first thing that Yann does at the end of the school day is latch onto Lucas’ arm so that he can't put his Escape Plan into action-- clearly he knows his best friend too well, a fact which Lucas is both pleased and incredibly dismayed by. The only saving grace is that Yann hasn't brought Arthur and Bas along with them. Lucas is thankful for small mercies.

He drags his feet the entire way to cafe Cinq à Sept but when they get there the anticipation of seeing Eliott heavily outweighs his dread of Yann seeing Eliott, and he's almost eager to push through the glass coffee shop doors. Yann smirks at him, but Lucas ignores him, eyes focused forward to where Eliott stands behind the counter.

Eliott looks up when the doorbell tinkles as they enter, and his face lights up when he sees Lucas. He's as beautiful as always, although he looks somewhat more tired than he usually does since it's the end of the day and not the beginning. His hair is a mess, like he's run his hands through it a thousand times over the course of the day, and his apron is covered in coffee stains. His pink shirt is wrinkled, and while Lucas can't see below the counter he imagines Eliott's jeans are too. Lucas’ entire world narrows in the moment their eyes meet, just like it has every time they've seen each other since the first time.

“Lucas!” Eliott grins but it flickers on his face, dropping for just a second, when he sees that Lucas isn’t alone. “And..?” Lucas can't tell if he's projecting or if Eliott actually does look jealous, but then Yann is quick to step in and introduce himself, so maybe it's not just Lucas who thinks it.

“Yann, Lucas’ best friend. Nice to put a face to a name.” The cafe is quiet, and there is no queue waiting, so Yann leans over the counter to offer his hand for Eliott to shake. Eliott takes it, looking mildly relieved. Lucas _really_ hopes he isn't projecting. It takes a minute for it to register, because Lucas is still focused on how Eliott’s shoulders had relaxed at Yann’s introduction, but when it does and Lucas realises what Yann has just said, he blushes the colour of Eliott's shirt. _Thanks, Yann_. If he survives this interaction he's going to push Yann into the Seine.

“Oh, so he's talked about me then?” Eliott’s smile is back in its rightful place on his perfect lips and although he’s speaking to Yann, his gaze is on Lucas.

“Mmhmm,” Yann sounds amused, and really Lucas would love to check, but his eyes seem to be glued to Eliott's own. “Can I get a medium latte please? Three shots of vanilla syrup.” No one moves. Lucas doesn't even register that Yann has ordered until he raps his knuckles against the counter and clears his throat loud enough to drag both Eliott and Lucas’ attention away from each other and back to Yann. “You do still sell coffee, right?”

“Huh?” Eliott blinks once, twice, a third time. “Oh!” He blushes so hard that Lucas worries about the blood vessels in his cheeks. At least he isn't alone with his red face now. “Yeah, god, yes-- sorry! What was it you wanted?”

“Medium latte, three shots of vanilla,” Yann repeats, glancing at Lucas with the smugest expression Lucas has ever seen him wear. “Lucas, do you want your usual?” Lucas opens his mouth to speak, but Eliott beats him to it.

“Caramel Frappuccino with whip and chocolate sauce, extra caramel shot, right?” Eliott beams at them, unaware that he's spilling Lucas darkest secret to the one person who will never let him live it down.

“Right.” He doesn't even want to look at Yann, but he can feel his best friend’s laser hot gaze against the side of his face and he can't help but glance over to gauge his reaction. For as long as they've been friends Lucas has been adamant that coffee should be drunk black and bitter with no trace of whipped cream or sweetness. They've had a tonne of meaningless arguments about it, especially because Yann is a huge fan of his sugar with a spoonful of coffee in it instead of the other way round. Yann had insisted that if Lucas would just try a coffee that was more dessert than drink he'd be a lot happier in life, and until recently Lucas had managed to successfully resist.

Apparently though, all it took was one glance into Eliott's wide, lovely eyes, and Eliott's insistence that frappuccinos were the best way to drink coffee on the planet, and Lucas was all in for trying. He stands by his initial assessment; the coffee here really isn't good, especially when Eliott makes it, but it’s worth it purely for the simple fact that it comes from Eliott himself; it’s almost like they’re holding hands by proxy when the cup passes between them. It’s especially nice when, more often than not, the take out cups tend to be decorated with Eliott's own artwork.

And alright fine, frappuccinos aren’t in fact the devil’s work. The whip and sauce on top is incredibly, annoyingly addicting.

Not that he will ever tell Yann any of this. He's already going to be in for a world of teasing.

When Lucas finally meets Yann’s eyes, Yann’s expression has softened into something fond. Still judging as hell, but definitely leaning towards fond, and Lucas thinks he might be off the hook with being sappy and hypocritical. Lucas bumps their shoulders together while Eliott is busy making the drinks, and Yann nudges him back.

When they have their coffee there's really no need to linger at the register, although Lucas does try to stick around for just a few more seconds, in case Eliott decides to spontaneously ask him out. He does kind of look like he's going to say something at one point but they have soon passed the threshold for how long Lucas can stand there without looking like too much of an idiot, and so he follows Yann to a table near the window, glancing back over his shoulder only once to meet Eliott’s gaze where it lingers on Lucas.

Yann allows him a few moments of silence before he pounces.

“Give me one good reason why you're not over there, right now, asking that guy for his number.”

“I'm not even sure he's into guys.”

“You wouldn't be saying that if you could see the way he looked at your ass.”

“ _Yann_!”

“I speak the truth bro,” Yann gives a careless shrug, leaning back in his chair and smirking into his coffee cup. His smile fades a second later, after he's taken a sip. “Lucas. What the _fuck_ ?” Lucas grimaces, glancing quickly in Eliott’s direction, just to check he hasn't materialised close enough to hear the conversation. It wouldn't do to have to tackle Yann over the table in plain view if he were to start insulting Eliott’s... _creative_ creations in earshot. As bad as the coffee is he's already incredibly, irrationally protective of Eliott's feelings.

“I know.”

“How could he possibly still be a barista when his coffee sucks this bad? I've been here before man, and every other drink I've tried from the other baristas has been perfect-- as much as you've tried to convince me otherwise. I don't even want to know what he did to it to make it taste so bad. Surely he couldn't have added actual mud to the recipe?” Yann risks another drink just in case his first one had somehow fooled him, but from the expression on his face Lucas can tell that it hasn't improved at all between sips.

“I don't know, I kind of just assumed that no one's going to complain about a barista who looks like he does. He's worth the destroyed taste buds.” Lucas takes a painful mouthful of his own, masking his grimace under a bright smile when he notices Eliott looking in their direction again. The whipped cream makes it slightly more bearable.

“Are you really so shallow?” Yann abandons his coffee cup on the table, even pushing it away a little to distance himself, as if, if it were to stay in reach, he’d be tempted to try it again.

Lucas’ eyes dart back to the counter. He studies the way the light streams in through the windows, surrounding Eliott in a halo glow that leaves him looking even more angelic than usual. Eliott is serving a new customer now, a man in a business suit, and his entire focus is on making a cup of coffee that will probably turn out as bad as the rest, so Lucas can observe unhindered.

“Yep,” he finally decides, and drains half his cup in one gulp. “I really am.” In all fairness the coffee is not _undrinkable_ per say. It isn't what you would call good, and it's nowhere near the quality you'd expect from a cafe like this, but it also isn't poison. For the most part. Like 65% of the time. He takes another drink. He's committed to this persona at this point; if he and Eliott end up married with kids twenty years down the line he will still be pretending to enjoy drinking Eliott’s coffee.

It's for the greater good, the greater good in this case being his love life.

Yann shakes his head. “Wow, you’ve got it _bad_ .” Lucas has to agree. “All the more reason for you to ask him out on a date-- hey now, don't give me that look. Shelve your insecurity and _listen_ to me. You think I'd send you up there knowing that you’d fail? Nah, man. I'm rooting for you, and I'm just telling you how I see it-- that boy is into you. Did you even notice the way he got jealous when we walked in together? He totally thought we were dating!”

“You should be so lucky.”

“Exactly. _Lucky_ . That's what he'd be to score a date with you, and that's what he _is_ to have you interested in him.”

“Sure, _Jan_ ,” Lucas pushes himself up from the table.

“Did you just _meme_ me? Wait-- are you really going to ask him?” Yann demands, sitting up straighter and leaning forward conspiratorially. Lucas gives a decisive nod, smoothing his t-shirt with slightly shaking hands, before he starts towards the counter. “Good luck.” He hears Yann hiss from somewhere behind him, and when he glances over his shoulders Yann gives him a covert thumbs up. Lucas rolls his eyes and flaps his hand behind his back. If Eliott sees any of this plotting, and rejects Lucas anyway, he’s never going to live down the embarrassment.

By the time he makes it to the counter Eliott has finished with his current customer and is cleaning a mug with a dish cloth. He looks up as he hears Lucas approach, and his smile is quick, sweet and almost deadly in its efficiency. Oh god-- is Lucas actually going through with this? What chance does he have, really? He's just _Lucas_ , and Eliott is a goddamn supermodel. He tries to channel Yann, and the confidence that Yann had been trying to instill in him back at the table.

“Hey! You ready for another? I should warn you though, too many frappuccinos and you'll be visiting the dentist more often. Don't tell my boss I said that though, I’ll get in trouble. I’m supposed to be the enabler in this retail relationship.” Lucas suppresses a shiver at the thought of drinking another cup of Eliott’s coffee, and then another, entirely different, shiver at the thought of being in any kind of relationship with Eliott. He shakes his head before Eliott can make a move towards the coffee machine though. He can only do so much acting. “No? What can I do for you then?”

“Well,” Lucas swallows hard past the lump in his throat. His palms are sweaty and a little shaky, and he's suddenly questioning all the life choices that have brought him to this moment, but he's here now and if he lets this go, if he doesn't take this chance, he has a feeling he'll regret it for the rest of his life. “I was wondering--” he can feel the blush on his cheeks, can see the way that Eliott’s eyes scan his face, his posture, the way he's clutching at the counter for support. “--I mean, I thought maybe, would you like--?”

“Eliott!” A girl's voice interrupts him, and they both jump a little, exchanging embarrassed glances and then turning to look at the entrance. Neither of them had heard the bells sound, or the door shut, but there she is, framed by the light coming in through the glass window behind her. She has short brown hair and a pretty face, with warm happy eyes that are fixed on Eliott.

She doesn't even seem to notice Lucas as she saunters across the cafe, past the staff only sign, and into Eliott’s section, where the till is. Lucas could swear that time slows down when she throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around Eliott's neck and planting a huge, slightly damp sounding kiss against his cheek. “I missed you so much. Marseille was so boring without you.”

Oh _fuck_. Eliott has a girlfriend.

Lucas feels a little weird, like all the blood that had been colouring his cheeks before has dropped back to his heart in order to try to keep it beating. He watches, a little detached from reality, like he's floating above it all, as Eliott returns the hug with both arms. It drags on for what feels like minutes but can only really have been seconds. When they pull away Eliott turns to look at Lucas, still smiling. The crinkles around his eyes are so cute. Lucas hates them, and he hates the fact that he can't touch them, smooth them out with his fingertips.

“Sorry to interrupt you guys,” the girl says, paying attention to Lucas for the first time. ”I guess this is really unprofessional of me. Can we get you a coffee on the house? I'll make you whatever you want.” When Lucas just looks at her blankly, she rolls her eyes. “God, sorry. I’m confusing things more-- this is my cafe.” See? Lucas knew there'd been a reason why he didn't like this place, he just hadn't realised that it was because his crush’s girlfriend owned the place.

“This is Lucas,” Eliott steps in, when Lucas continues to stare awkwardly between the two of them.

“Oh! _Ooooh_ !” The girls grin widens, and she looks at Lucas with a new, more intrigued light in her eyes. _Great_ , Eliott's probably told her all about the new customer who won't stop ogling him. He wonders if it's possible to be barred from a coffee house in the same way you can be barred from a pub. It'll help his street cred at least, as long as he can get in front of the rumours and tell everyone that it's because he  threw a coffee cup against the wall or something, instead of because he turned into some sort of semi-stalker. “I’m Lucille. It's nice to meet you”

“Right.” Lucas clears his throat with a cough. “You too.”

“What were you saying, before?” Eliott is biting his lip, shuffling from foot to foot, and staring at Lucas like he's trying to see right into his mind. Well, this is a better alternative to openly making fun of him at least. “You were asking me a question?”

“Oh, no. _What_? No. No question. I mean. Nothing important.” Lucas breaks eye contact and looks over his shoulder towards Yann, who is literally watching Lucas’ disaster of a love life play out through a tiny gap between his fingers, like it's some kind of horror film. Lucas can relate. “I was just... going to ask you what time it is! My phone battery is dead. And so is his,” he gestures over his shoulder towards Yann, and then regrets it when the both of them catch sight of his best friend looking like he's witnessing a car crash. Yann drags his hands away from his face in record timing, but it's not quick enough and Lucille and Eliott both turn questioning eyes in Lucas’ direction. And then, as one, they both look up towards the ceiling.

Lucas follows their gaze and they all stare at the massive digital clock above their heads. “Right.”  Lucas clears his throat, cheeks heating yet again. His observational skills could really use some work. “I’ll be going now.”

He pivots on one foot, moving so quick he almost makes a full turn to face them again, and then he marches back towards their table. Yann has already stood by the time Lucas gets to him, so Lucas just reaches out, catches his wrist in an iron grip, and _yanks_ until they're practically running from the coffee shop.

“ _Girlfriend_ ,” Lucas hisses under his breath.

“ _Yikes_ ,” Yann hisses back as they scurry away like mice who have been caught nibbling on forbidden cheese.

They hit the street on a stumble. Lucas’ foot catches on the hinge of the door as they leave and he almost drags the both of them to the floor. Only Yann’s quick reflexes save them. He wraps an arm around Lucas’ waist and hauls him forward until they're out of sight of the coffee shop windows. If there is any way for this day to get any more embarrassing, Lucas doesn't want to know. He just wants to live in the dark until it inevitably happens.

“Well,” Yann straightens up as he releases his grip on Lucas, placing his hands on his hips and giving Lucas a faux cheerful, slightly forced grin. Lucas glares at him, still pink in the face. “Let's never go back there again!” He pats Lucas on the shoulder and exhales noisily through his nose. “I really am sorry though, I could have sworn he was into you. My bad.”

“Your bad.” Lucas says through his teeth. “I'm going to--” Lucas is interrupted-- again--  before he can detail all of his plans on how exactly he's going to bring about Yann's untimely death, by someone calling Lucas name from behind them. Lucas knows who it is before he even turns around to check.

Eliott is stood in the doorway of the cafe. His apron is nowhere to be seen, and neither is his girlfriend. He jogs the short distance between them before Lucas has time to register that he's really there, and when he stops in front of them he only spares a single, second-long awkward glance in Yann’s direction before focusing his full attention on Lucas.

“Hey,” Lucas bites his lip so hard he tastes iron. “Did we forget something?”

“Yeah.” Eliott licks his lips and Lucas can't help the way that his eyes follow the movement.

“Yeah?” Lucas repeats, using a herculean force of will to bring his eyes back up to meet Eliott's.

“Yeah.” Eliott nods once, sharply. There is an odd, silent moment where no one speaks, and then Yann clears his throat and Eliott jolts like he's been electrocuted. “Oh. Yeah. Your number? Yeah you forgot to leave your number.”

Lucas will never admit it even under the pain of torture but he's pretty sure the sound he makes is closer to a squeak than any noise a mouse has ever made.

“I realise how things looked in there, but Lucille is just my friend. The reason she recognised your name is because I've not stopped talking about you since you came into the cafe, and I've been begging her to let me take extra shifts just in case you came in again. You might have noticed, but I'm not great at making coffee, so I usually only work when she's desperate for staff, and she's been in Marseille for the past couple of weeks, sorting out a new coffee shop over there, so she's been pretty desperate.”

“What? No!” Lucas protests, blinking rapidly, his protective instincts surging again. “Your coffee is great! 10 out of 10 would drink again.”

“Sure,” Eliott smirks, and it manages to be disbelieving and endeared at the same time. “But anyway, I got the feeling towards the end there that you were about to finally ask me out, before Lucille showed up, and I didn’t want a misunderstanding to be the reason you didn’t. If you’re not interested that’s fine, but I’d really like to get to know you better. Take you on a date, maybe.”

“Wait, so--” Lucas exchanges a glance with Yann, who is looking entirely too amused by this whole situation. “You were only there for me?”

“Yeah,” Eliott admits, fiddling with the hem of his shirt, gaze dropping to the concrete below their feet. “You wouldn't believe how many angry businessman I've had to deal with in-between your visits. Turns out a large percent of the population are very particular about how they take their coffee.”

“Not me,” Lucas assures him, shaking his head from side to side so hard he almost gives himself brain damage, and then elbowing Yann hard in the ribs when his best friend snorts in disbelief. Eliott and Lucas both ignore Yann’s yelp of pain as he staggers to the side, too caught up in each other's gravitational pull. “I love your coffee.” Eliott scrunches his face up and tilts his head in disbelief, until Lucas can't help but try again. “I like your coffee.” Eliott’s face doesn't change. “I tolerate your coffee?” Even that might be pushing it a little.

“Much better,” Eliott accepts it though, and lets his face revert to normal. He winks at Lucas, whose heart makes a desperate bid for escape via his throat.

“Alright, well, this has been enlightening and all, but if I witness any more flirting I'm going to push one or both of you into open traffic.” Yann says from somewhere to the left, drawing them out of their daze again. “Give the boy your number, Lulu.”

“Lulu,” Eliott tests the word out, rolling it on his tongue and around his mouth until it's all Lucas can hear. He hates that nickname the vast majority of the time, but from Eliott it doesn't sound so bad. He takes the pen that Yann has pulled from thin air and holds his hand out for Eliott’s arm. Eliottt pulls the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing a smooth patch of perfect skin on the underside of his wrist.

Lucas takes care not to come off as too much of a creep-- it’s too tempting to start stroking Eliott’s arm right there in the middle of the street, but he resists. His tongue pokes out from between his lips as he carefully scrawls his number across Eliott’s arm in large handwriting. Eliott flinches a little from the tickle of the nib as it trails it’s way towards the dip of his inner elbow, but Lucas holds steady. He hesitates for only a second as he finishes up, and then decides he’s already all in and doodles a little heart at the end of the last digit.

When Eliott sees it his face lights up to such a degree that Lucas is almost blinded. He hadn't realised that Eliott could get any prettier but apparently he'd been wrong, oh so wrong. He gulps in a lung full of oxygen before he passes out, ignores Yann’s maniacal giggling in the background and runs his finger underneath the numbers so softly that Eliott can probably barely feel it, but they both shiver anyway.

“Call me, okay?” Lucas looks up and studies Eliott's face, still a little unsure. Eliottt nods, his smile is softer now, less of a beam and more of a caress, and Lucas is helpless to do anything but return it.

It feels weird walking away from Eliott, back down the street they’d come from to double back to Lucas’ apartment. He glances over his shoulder multiple times, and Eliott is always stood there, watching them go. It feels wrong, being separated.

When they finally turn the corner and Lucas can't see Eliott anymore, he’s still all Lucas can think about.

“Do you think he'll call?” He can't help but ask.

Yann rolls his eyes. “I--”

In his pocket Lucas’ phone starts to vibrate. They both stop walking and look down at the outline in his jacket until something clicks in his brain and Lucas scrambles to pull it out, answering with a cautious hello.

“I knew your phone hadn’t really run out of battery,” Eliott's voice crows from the other side, and Lucas’ smile is so wide it spans the horizon, reaches the distance between the Earth and the moon above, where it's beginning to show in the late evening sky.

“Hi,” Lucas resists the urge to giggle, but it's a close call.

“Hi. So, about that date.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> me: im gonna rest my hands!  
> also me: im so bored im going to talk 6000 coffee shop au words into existence if its the last thing i do so help me god
> 
> i have so many ideas guys not being able to type is driving me up the wall, so im doing the voice to word thing again so bare with me! any spelling mistakes, blame the computer lmao. 
> 
> and yes the title is literally a very bad coffee pun. yolo. 
> 
> id love to hear what you think about this! if people are interested i might make it into a lil series or something, covering their first date or doing a flashback to their first few meetings or something, but if not then im happy with this as a stand alone too, im really happy with it for the most part altho it feels a lil rushed in some places im just too impatient haha.


End file.
